Yesterday afternoon, the Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 29 confirmed cases of swine influenza A H1N1 in the state.

Newberry County’s latest total is 18, and of the 11 confirmed cases outside of the county, five are associated in some way with a recent Newberry Academy school trip to Mexico.

Four other state cases in Greenville, Anderson and Charleston are due to recent travel to a national or international location with confirmed cases reported, says DHEC.

DHEC asks all who have tested positive for H1N1 to voluntarily isolate themselves for a short time.

Nationwide, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 896 confirmed cases from 41 states and two H1N1 deaths.

Locally, Newberry Academy, which had students infected with H1N1 after a mid-April senior trip to Cancun, has largely recovered from the swine flu scare.

Seniors are feeling better and back in class, and academy administration added extra math and science instruction to the curriculum to make up for the week students missed because of H1N1, says Headmaster Bob Dawkins.

And in a time when Newberry schools, offices and even churches have put out large pump bottles of hand sanitizer, the academy got a special antibacterial boost for its recent flu troubles.

Yesterday afternoon, the school received a 20-case shipment of Wet Ones antibacterial wipes.

The disposable wipe company from Connecticut sent its product to schools hit hardest by the H1N1 flu “to help them stay healthy by sanitizing and cleaning their hands when soap and water are not readily available.”

“Teachers are excited about getting them because they’ve been buying them out of their own money,” says Dawkins.

“This is a wonderful blessing and we’re just very appreciative of it,” says Annette Mann, the academy’s food coordinator.